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Get wild with SoftZoo: MIT’s open-source platform for creating soft robots

May 9, 2023

The world of soft robotics is expanding rapidly, with MIT recently unveiling SoftZoo, a virtual open framework platform that simulates 3D model animals performing various tasks in different environmental settings. Researchers can use the program to design and optimize their own creations, with the aim of co-designing the soft robot bodies and their controllers for specific tasks.

SoftZoo offers an open source program that enables researchers to experiment and test their robot ideas. This allows them to find the best configuration for a robot’s shape, thereby enabling them to design soft robotics algorithms that can perform various tasks. The platform helps users understand the best strategies for robots to interact with their environments.

Space

NUVIEW’s LiDAR Technology: The Future of Geospatial Industry

May 7, 2023

NUVIEW, a space research and technology company based in Florida, has announced that it is building a constellation of satellites to capture and map the entire surface of the Earth in 3D using LiDAR technology. LiDAR, short for Light Detection and Ranging, uses pulsed lasers to measure distances to a given target or area accurately and consistently. NUVIEW’s LiDAR satellite constellation will collect data “more than 100 times faster than current commercial aerial solutions,” providing the first, most complete, high-resolution 3D point cloud of the Earth’s surface. The company made the announcement during the Geospatial World Forum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Although it remains unclear when the company will launch its LiDAR constellation, NUVIEW has amassed $1.2 billion in contracts.

Clint Graumann, CEO & Co-Founder of NUVIEW, said in an official press release, “NUVIEW is thrilled to be leading a new era in geospatial technology to provide the first, most complete, high-resolution 3D point cloud of the Earth’s surface. Our LiDAR satellite constellation will offer a wealth of information that has never before been available at scale, driving innovation and progress throughout numerous industries and revolutionizing the way we understand and interact with our planet.”

Augmented Reality

3D Apartment’s AR Technology Lets You Shop for Furniture Without Leaving Your Home

May 7, 2023

The 3D Apartment platform is revolutionizing the apartment hunting and interior decorating experience with its use of cutting-edge VR and AR technology. Home seekers can take virtual tours of apartments and apply for residences digitally, all from the comfort of their current location. The platform also boasts a range of AR features to help people design and furnish their new space.

One of the standout features of 3D Apartment is its ability to allow users to digitally measure their furniture to ensure that pieces will fit perfectly in their new home. Additionally, the platform enables users to scan their own furniture and place it in a digital space to visualize how it will look in their new apartment.

Agriculture

China Advances Gene-Editing in Agriculture with First-Ever Crop Approval

May 7, 2023

China has given approval to the first gene-edited soybean in the country. The crop, developed by Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology, is expected to raise the level of healthy oleic acid in the plant. Gene editing involves altering existing genes rather than introducing foreign ones, making it less risky than genetic modification. China, which published regulations on gene-editing last year, is now looking to science to enhance food production. Shunfeng is also researching other gene-edited crops, such as herbicide-resistant rice and vitamin C-rich lettuce. The approval comes amid growing concerns over feeding China’s population of 1.4 billion people, as well as a rise in diet-related diseases among its expanding middle class.

The soybean has been granted a safety certificate for five years, starting from April 21, 2023. Shunfeng has hailed the approval as a significant achievement for the company, and it is hoping to become the first to commercialize gene-edited crops in China. United States-based company Calyxt produced a high oleic soybean, which was the first gene-edited food to be approved in the US in 2019.

Law Enforcement

Public Safety or Private Interests? The Privatization of American Law Enforcement

May 7, 2023

Private security firms are seeing a significant increase in demand as police departments in the United States struggle with staffing issues. This comes as crime rates continue to rise, leaving many business owners and civilians feeling vulnerable and in need of additional protection. As a result, private security companies are booming, with twice as many security guards employed in the US as there were 20 years ago. By 2021, there were roughly three private security guards for every two police officers.

The rise of private security is driven by income inequality, with wealthy people having more to protect and more money to spend on protection. While some business owners are able to pay $750 a day for armed guards, many others have to make do with what their taxes can buy. In cities like Beverly Hills, where residents and business associations have chipped in extra money to hire private security, the wealthy have effectively created their own private police force.

Science & Technology News

Breaking the Waves: Quantum Detection Lidar Prototype Sets New Standard for Underwater Imaging

May 7, 2023

Researchers have developed a lidar system that utilizes quantum detection technology to acquire 3D images while underwater. This is the first demonstration of a prototype system that can capture detailed information in extremely low-light conditions found underwater. The high sensitivity of this system allows it to be useful for a wide range of applications, including inspecting underwater installations such as wind farm cables and turbines, surveying submerged archaeology sites, and for security and defense purposes.

Capturing 3D images through ocean water can be challenging because of the light-limited conditions and particles in the water that scatter light and distort the image. However, single-photon detection, a quantum-based technique, allows for high penetration and works in low-light conditions.

Researchers from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh describe experiments in which an entire single-photon lidar system was submerged in a large water tank in Optics Express. The new demonstrations bring the technology closer to practical applications compared to the team’s earlier experiments with underwater single-photon detection, which were performed in carefully controlled laboratory conditions with the optical setup placed outside the water tank and data analysis performed offline.

Energy

Westinghouse’s Next-Generation Nuclear Reactor: The Solution to Energy Independence?

May 7, 2023

Westinghouse, a U.S. company, has announced its plans to introduce a small modular reactor (SMR) to generate clean electricity that could potentially replace coal plants or power water desalination and other industries. The reactor, known as the AP300, is planned to have a 300 MW capacity and will not use special fuels or liquid metal coolants, making it a simpler and safer design compared to some other next-generation reactors. This SMR is expected to be a smaller version of its successful AP1000 reactor, which is already in operation in China and is being ramped up in Georgia at the Vogtle plant.

According to Rita Baranwal, Westinghouse Electricity Co’s top technology officer, the company plans to start constructing the reactor by 2030 and have it running by 2033. Despite facing obstacles for new nuclear projects, Baranwal expressed confidence, stating that the company has kept the design simple and based it on demonstrated and licensed technology, which is one of the advantages of this concept.

3D Printer

Sweat Tells All: The Innovative 3D-Printed Wearable Sensor Revealing Vital Health Information

May 7, 2023

The secretion of sweat during exercise is not just an indicator of a good workout, but it also provides valuable information about our overall health. This includes revealing clues about dehydration, fatigue, blood sugar levels, as well as serious conditions like diabetes, heart failure, and cystic fibrosis. To enhance the potential of wearable sweat sensors, researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering have developed a 3D-printed sweat sensor called the “sweatainer.”

The sweatainer is a compact and portable device that collects and analyzes sweat, offering new possibilities for health monitoring. By incorporating various sensors, the sweatainer can analyze sweat in a way similar to other wearable sweat-sensing systems. The 3D-printing technology allows for the creation of intricate designs, providing an innovative and cost-effective way to prototype advanced wearable sweat devices.

Compared to traditional methods of sweat collection that require absorbent pads or microbore tubes, the sweatainer’s “multi-draw” sweat collection method is more efficient and offers the ability to collect multiple, separate sweat samples for analysis either directly on the device or sent to a lab. This advancement not only simplifies sweat collection but also offers new opportunities for at-home testing, sample storage, and integration with existing health monitoring methods.

Real-world studies of the sweatainer system demonstrate the significant potential of this groundbreaking technology. Through the use of 3D-printing, the researchers hope to continue driving innovation to create a future where personal health monitoring is more accessible, convenient, and insightful.

By Impact Lab

3D Printer

From the Lab to Your Plate: 3D Printed Fish Fillets are the New Catch of the Day

May 6, 2023

The cultured meat industry has been growing rapidly, with major production facilities under construction and the approval process for finished products inching forward. However, most of the focus has been on ground beef, chicken, pork, and steak, while fish have been largely left out of the fray. But that may be changing. Last month, Steakholder Foods, an Israeli company, announced that it had 3D-printed a ready-to-cook fish fillet using cells grown in a bioreactor.

According to the company, this fish fillet is the first of its kind in the world, and they are aiming to commercialize the 3D bioprinter used to create it. While the industry has been successful in creating lab-grown chicken and beef, fish have presented a unique set of challenges. However, the 3D printing process has allowed Steakholder Foods to create a fillet with a flaky texture, just like real fish when cooked well.

Electric Automobile

Electric Dreams: Sweden to Build World’s First Electrified Motorway by 2025

May 5, 2023

Sweden has announced plans to build the world’s first electrified motorway, which will allow electric cars to charge themselves as they pass along its surface. The e-motorway, which is set to be completed in about two years, is part of wider efforts by Sweden to decarbonize the transport sector in response to a new European Union law that requires new cars to have zero CO2 emissions from 2035.

A major benefit of the road could be sparing electric vehicle users the annoyance of having to find and wait at charging stations, as in theory, the road can provide all the required power. The announcement was first reported by the Euronews website, which noted that Sweden has piloted similar schemes before, though this one appears to be the most ambitious so far. Sweden’s transport administration plans to convert the E20 motorway, which is in the middle of three major Swedish cities: Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö.

“We think the electrification solution is the way forward for decarbonizing the transport sector and we are working with a number of solutions,” Jan Pettersson, a director at the Swedish transport administration, told Euronews.

Environment

Hydrogen-Powered Heavyweights: Toyota Offers Conversion Kit for Diesel Semis

May 5, 2023

The state of California has recently passed a new regulation that will ban the sale of diesel-powered trucks starting in 2036, in an effort to promote cleaner air and reduce carbon emissions. The new rule is part of the state’s Advanced Clean Fleets program, which aims to make California’s entire trucking industry zero emissions by 2045. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted in favor of the rule last Friday, but it still awaits approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take effect.

While the ban on diesel trucks is a step towards a cleaner future, not all zero-emission trucks will be battery-powered. Fuel cell trucks that generate electricity through the combination of hydrogen stored in tanks with atmospheric oxygen also qualify under the rule. The only byproduct of fuel cell trucks is water vapor, making them a cleaner alternative to diesel-powered trucks.

Science & Technology News

Boosting Cell Lifespan: Scientists Develop Synthetic Genetic Clock

May 5, 2023

As we age, our cells naturally degrade and become less efficient, leading to decreased mobility and vitality. However, researchers from the University of California San Diego have discovered a way to extend cell lifespan and promote longevity using a synthetic genetic clock.

Using yeast cells, the team was able to increase their lifespan by 82% on average by “rewiring” their genetic circuits. While the research focused on yeast cells, the team believes it could eventually lead to ways to promote healthier aging in humans.

The key to the study was editing the genetic circuits responsible for regulating cellular processes and mitigating wear and tear. By understanding how these circuits function, scientists can tweak them to promote longevity.